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The Office of Sustainability is happy to announce the release of the draft Climate Action Plan Update. The plan is now open to public comment, and we welcome your thoughts and suggestions. There are a number of ways to get involved:

Submit comments through the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability's online comment form

Multnomah County employees, please refer to our Commons Site for information on how to provide your feedback

It is important that Multnomah County address climate change because its impacts will fall hardest on those in our community who already face deep health and socio-economic disparities -- many of the same people the county already serves. The risks our communities face from climate change are daunting, but the county and our partners are working to make our community more climate resilient. In 2009, Multnomah County and the City of Portland jointly adopted the Climate Action Plan, a roadmap to reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, the decrease needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

The Climate Action Plan is focused on a number of five-year actions that put us on a path to the long-term goal. And it’s working. Emissions in Multnomah County are down 14 percent below 1990 levels, and have decreased 35 percent on a per capita basis. This decrease in greenhouse gas emissions over a period of time when we saw population and employment growth is evidence that we can grow our economy while also creating a low-carbon future.

The draft of the 2015 Climate Action Plan builds upon success of the previous plan and:

Prioritizes health, equity and community partnerships, including looking at the “how” of the work and not just the “what”

Focuses on strategies both to reduce carbon emissions and to prepare our community for climate impacts

Identifies new five-year actions for County and City staff programs

The 2015 draft plan was developed from input by county and city employees, a community steering committee, and an equity-focused workgroup made up of six community-based organizations. The Office of Sustainability will work with Multnomah County Leadership and staff from each department to provide additional feedback on the plan, as well as gather feedback from the community about the draft during the March 2 - April 10 public comment period.

Multnomah County brings a unique and important voice to the regional climate conversation by making health and racial justice a priority in this work. If done well, climate solutions lead to improved health and economic opportunities for everyone in our community.